Who Needs Hickory Farms?

Not that I have anything against Hickory Farms ... let's get that right out there up front.  For Christmas, everyone on my husband's side of the family gets gift cards or money.  Boring right?  So we like to have another something they can open just as an extra.  Being that there are 5 guys, we decided to go the sausage/cheese/cracker route.  Well, when we looked at the prices of Hickory Farms we had an AH-HA moment and decided to do it ourselves.

Enter Walmart.  I have a love/hate relationship with Walmart ... love that you can get a ton of stuff at fairly decent prices, hate that my blood pressure shoots up the minute I walk through the doors.  Ah well, the price of being thrifty I guess. 

Anyway, hubby put these boxes together tonight ... for much less than we'd have paid at the mall and they're getting a bunch more stuff.

Cost Breakdown Per Box:

Box - 50 cents (2 x 1$ at the dollar store)
Tissue Crinkle - 50 cents (got 2 out of a $1 bag)
Crackers - $1.48 x 2 = $2.96 
Hummus - $2.98 (not sure what hummus is but hubby thought it sounded good)
Summer Sausage - $3.98
Beef Sausage - $4.98
Marbled Cheddar Cheese - $2.18
Pepper Jack Cheese - $2.18
Sharp Cheddar Cheese - $2.98
Muenster Cheese - $2.18

Total = $25.42

PS:  The women are getting knitted dishcloth/soap sack sets with handmade soap and boxes of chocolate.

I've Been Working on The Curtains ...

... all the weekend long.  I've got 4 more panels to go and I only have enough fabric for 1 so had to order some more from fabric.com.  Glad I have gift certificates that I got in a trade for yarn that I wasn't going to use.  I love Ravelry.com. (The knitting/crocheting site I hang out at.)

I picked up the little rowboat shelf at Goodwill for $4 which I thought was an excellent deal.  It's also got a paddle and a fishing rod (wood) but haven't decided what I'm going to do with those.  It holds the old Girl Scout manuals and some other books perfectly.  The Cadette cap is on a hat stand my father-in-law made me and I think it works perfectly.

We need to work on getting the plumbing fixed up in the kitchen ... we need to hook up the water lines to the tank and to the outside water faucet and put the faucets back in place.  The only things left to do after the plumbing is taken care of are all cosmetic, some little decorating touches, cleaning windows and windowsills as well as getting the outside painted. 

I'm really glad my husband was able to fit the camper in the garage.  It makes it so much easier to hang curtains, etc. when all I have to do is step inside the garage.  I'm still amazed that he was able to get it inside the garage horizontally along the back wall and still leave us enough room for our 2 vehicles.  Shasta sure did something right when they built the LoFlyte models. 

Vintage Train Case Makeover

Finally finished revamping the old Samsonite train case I got at Salvation Army.  I had originally done this with Girl Scout stuff but hated the way it looked so I ripped all that decoupage off the case, cleaned it and sprayed it with Rustoleum vinyl spray paint.  That stuff is amazing by the way.  I used it in the camper to spray the old vinyl seats to refresh them and it worked like a charm! 

I decided to use pages from the book Wonders of Nature with illustrations by Eloise Wilkin ... I adore her drawings ... they're just so wonderful.  Got the book at a thrift store and had no problems cutting it up.  It was a big Golden book so the pictures were oversize.

Decoupaged them on the case with Mod Podge and when it warms up enough (probably not till spring unless we're lucky), I'll spray the whole outside with a spray sealer.

The inside of the case was okay but had some stains and smelled like old cosmetics so I ripped all of that out, traced around the outside of the case on a piece of foam board and cut inside the lines by about 1/4 inch.  I covered the 2 pieces with avocado green fabric I had around the house and hot glued it in place.  Then I hot glued upholstery fabric around the inside sides ... it's a burgundy with avocado green diamonds so it matches the green.  If I had been smart, I'd have done the whole case in the upholstery fabric but it's fine so I'm not going to worry about it.

So I now have a new train case to use for whatever I decide.  :)

Fun Vintage Finds!

I saw one of these plaid Skotch Koolers in Salvation Army a few months ago but it was $10 so I passed.  Then I found out when I went on my sisters on the fly outing that $10 was a fairly decent price so I was kicking myself because it would look really cute displayed in my camper.  Well, there are several on ebay but I didn't want one bad enough to pay the price + $12+ for shipping so I kind of blew it off.

Today I went to an auction ... it was cold, it started raining BUT I got a Skotch Kooler and this cute BBQ tray for $1!!! 

I think the tray is just adorable and I love the cooler, rust and all.  It will look cute displayed with my vintage Girl Scout and camping stuff, don't you think?  Sometimes waiting is all it takes!

Hey that's my fabric!

Looking through these calendars while decoupaging the traincase I found "my" curtain fabric in September 1962.  How funny!  Of course, mine's a reproduction but still it's kind of fun!

Let the decorating begin!

FINALLY!  Hubby got the LoFlyte painted inside and I'm itching to decorate!  Hung my first official decoration up and now I'm ready to go.  I went thrifting for camper stuff and found some tin stars at Salvation Army for cheap.  I repainted them with Army Green Rustoleum spray paint (I have a fascination with spray paint, always have ... hubby used to say "if it sits still for a minute, you'll probably paint it") and I think they look pretty cute. 

I also snagged some cute Lincoln Beautyware canisters at the same thrift.  Figured I could spray paint them green and use them to store non-food items.  Well first thing was to get them clean so I stuck them in the dishwasher.  Yikes!  Apparently someone before me had the brilliant idea to spray paint them and the paint melted into clumps all over the originally harvest gold canisters.  So I'm now scraping paint down to the aluminum in order to spray paint them.  Worth the work?  Probably not but they're cute and I'm persistent!

I also bought a stack of old Girl Scout calendars off eBay and plan to use them to decoupage the round train case I purchased for more storage. 

Lastly, while still on a spray paint kick, I purchased some Rustoleum vinyl and upholstery paint (did you know they made that?  I didn't!) and sprayed the 2 bench seats next to the bed and the bed guard for the bunk bed that we're going to use as a shelf.  The vinyl was pretty faded and dingy and I went with the sand color (basic beige) which has really freshened them up.  I love spray paint!

Let the light shine in ...

Well the inside is about 1/2 painted ... using Valspar Barcelona White which is quite a bit more yellow than white ... maybe it's "cream" as hubby calls it.  Anyway, it looks so fresh and clean inside.  We're using a semi-gloss so that should help brighten it up even more.  One thing I have to give Shasta credit for is the amount of light inside their old campers.  The LoFlyte has panoramic windows in the dining area (meaning a huge set of windows across the front and one behind each seat) and a total of 7 window sections in a 12-foot living space.  Front and back windows go nearly the width of the camper.  There is a big section of windows in the kitchen area (this section goes from in front of the sink to behind the dinette seat on the street side of the camper).  There are windows on each side of the front dinette (behind the seats) and windows on each side of the couch/bed area plus a tiny little window on top.  With the front door open and the screen door allowing more light inside, it's open and airy and completely non-cavelike.

While I absolutely adore the cute little canned hams, I've been inside a couple and they seem dark and dreary.  I'm falling more in love with this LoFlyte by the day.  So anyway, with the paint on the walls, I decided to put up one of the sets of curtains I've made (still working on the rest).  It's a perfect match ... I had a choice of going with ivory or beige and decided to listen to my daughter and go with beige.  I'm so glad I did.  I think they look great. 

Now I just have to get the rest of the interior painted, the cabinet hardware put back, the bench seats and bed screwed back into place and the shelf section across the back re-trimmed and I'll be ready to start decorating.  I can't wait!

Camping and the Cutest Darn Curtains Ever!

Well, I went on my first Sisters on the Fly camp out last weekend .. what a blast!  They really do have more fun than anyone else!  Other than a minor mishap where I jackknifed the trailer into the SUV and put a big old dent in it (the SUV, not the trailer), it was a wonderful weekend ... neat people, great junk (went to the Nebraska Junk Jaunt) and gorgeous weather.  Couldn't have asked for more.

While I was there, I got to reminiscing about how much fun I had at Girl Scout camp as a child and decided THAT was the theme for my trailer!  For those of you unfamiliar with Sisters on the Fly, most of the trailers/campers are themed.  Most are cowgirl-related but there are some done up in ladybugs, ants, etc.  One of the ladies there had a red/white Shasta and everything she had inside was pretty much red and white ... it was beautiful.  On the fold down bed, she had a gorgeous white crocheted throw with red crocheted flowers, cute little red and white curtains, red and white accessories, etc.  You get the picture.

Another one was done in pink and cowgirl stuff.  She had adorable curtains, boots and had even decoupaged posters on her ceiling.  Very creative.

So, after going through a few theme ideas myself, I decided that since I've collected GS stuff for quite a while, why not incorporate that as my theme.  I ordered 10 yards of reproduction vintage Girl Scout fabric and started making curtains, found some old GS and GS camp pennants and will put them on the cabinet doors along with other assorted stuff.  I also had the brilliant idea that since I'll never use the bunk bed, I'll use it as a shelf only.  I removed the back half and will remount the front half (the part with the edge) so it only goes 1/2 way across my bed.  That way I won't bump my head in the middle of the night and I can display stuff on it.  I also even have an old Cadette uniform on a dressmaker's dummy that is wearing my old badge sash which I think will be cute to display also (as long as I don't scare myself in the middle of the night when I see a "body" in my camper).

I got 1 curtain done so far and I think it's the cutest thing ever.  What do you think?

She's baaaaaaaack!

Got my camper back today ... cost more than I expected but they also did more than I expected.  She's all set to go now with 2 new propane tanks, clean lines, working stove and oven and working heater.  Bearings are freshly packed, electric brake is wired and working, all lights work properly and the electric is functional.  We also purchased a portable gray water tank and some plumbing supplies for the city water hookup. 

After paying for all that, we went to Hobby Lobby and returned the bug fabric (which was just too over the top) and purchased some maroon-ish fabric with tiny diamond dots of avocado green which is being turned into curtains.  It brings out a color from the cushions while coordinating with the avocado appliances.  We also went to Menard's and purchased a nice warm off-white to paint the walls (decided not to introduce any more color because I was afraid it would turn into a circus) and a smoke detector.

I'm still not sure what color to paint the exterior.  I'm leaning toward white naturally with the faded gold stripes being a nice dark avocado/olive green rather than a Kelly or a forest green but then again, every time I see a pink trailer, I drool.  I'm going to have to do some more googling of LoFlyte's to see what others have done.  When I played with Photoshop, the only color that looked decent to me was a darker green so I'm probably going to go with that.  Sometimes the camper has to tell you what color it wants to be and I think this one is saying "go green!"

I'm just glad she's back and nearly ready to take on my camping trip.  The man at the RV place said she's very solid and he was actually amazed that the stove/oven and the heater all worked like they should since he said parts for those are very hard to come by.  So I lucked out on that. 

So far we've sunk $2600+ into her ... would have been much easier to have just purchased a renovated one but we're still way under what one would cost new so I guess that's a good thing.  It will be nice to have her done though so I can just relax and enjoy.  One interesting thing .. we can more than likely get her into the garage whereas the Compact is about 2-3 inches too tall even riding on the rims with the tires deflated all the way.  Guess that's why they call her a LoFlyte!

New Cushions!

The cushions are back from the upholsterer's and I think they look great.  Since we're going to pick up the camper tomorrow from the RV place, I'm going to take one of the smaller cushions with me to find perfect fabric for the curtains and a nice warm neutral paint color for the walls, something that was impossible to do with a 4" rectangle of fabric.

I did notice that the dinette cushions aren't all the same size ... we reused the original foam so not sure what's up with that.  Ah well, that's not something I'm going to worry about.  I also found out she's able to purchase 4" foam at a discount with enough notice so when we're to that step in the Compact's reconstruction, I'll be using the same lady to do the cushions for it.

Shasta Come Home!

My poor LoFlyte has been at the camper repair place for 2 weeks now and they still haven't started on her.  I called today and told them I need to take her on a trip next week and could they at least pack her bearings and rewire the tail lights.  Apparently they're working on a total interior renovation for someone and got behind.  Meanwhile, my camping trip (my inaugural SOTF trip) hinges on getting the camper back.  I told them that I can bring it back to have them mess with the propane lines if I need to but the bearings are crucial and the Nebraska State Patrol would probably like me to have working tail lights so that's pretty important too.

Meanwhile, I have no idea if the cushions are done or not (need to call tomorrow) and she's not going to get a fresh coat of paint ... I'm going to look like Cinderella (pre-fairy godmother) next to the stepsisters at the camp out but not much I can do about that now.  Ah well, next year I'll be stylin! 

Vintage Find

I found these adorable retro glasses at my favorite goodwill store ... this store isn't organized very well and you basically have to dig through bins o' crap to find anything. Last time I was there, I found 2 of the square tupperware snack plates but they were kind of beaten up so I passed. I also (MISTAKE!) passed on a cute little cast iron gumball dispenser that you needed a real coin to work. It was pink, it was only $3.50 and I thought "I really don't need this!" so I left it. Naturally, it was gone when I went yesterday. Ah well, someone got a cute little vintage find.

Anyway, these were stuffed in a bin of plastics ... I found 8 of them but one of them was cracked and the other one had burlap missing from one side so I passed on those 2. Although there are only 5 pictured, I actually got 6 of them. The duplicate is the avocado green one. I think they'll be adorable in the camper.

I'm such a sucker for thrift stores and auctions! :) Today I went to the local GW store since I'm looking for "senorita" gear for the upcoming SOTF event. I did find some big plastic margarita glasses for 50 cents each and when I got them home, hubby mentioned "Oh, I have some plastic ones from the conference last year." Oh well, I'm sure I'll find a use for them. No other senorita gear but I did find a 1970s Gunne Sax dress that I'll probably donate to the high school costume closet for an upcoming play. Just couldn't leave it there and at $3.50, I had to have the blast from the past!

Port-a-Potty Painting and Other Things

Even though I have a ton of work staring me in the face, I'm still dreaming of my camper ... isn't that odd? When it's sitting outside all I can think about is how much work is ahead of me and then I keep stalking craigslist and ebay trying to find another one that is fully completed so I don't have to do all the work. Then when she's gone, I miss her. Kind of like being pregnant I guess. Anyway, after hashing and rehashing, I decided to pass on the finished camper that I thought was adorable and keep plugging away at my old girl. (I am playing camper matchmaker though with another "sister" so maybe she'll give that darling little compact a home!)

I decided to test out the Sherwin Williams Blonde rather than judging by a small little 2 x 2 square so I decided to paint the box the port-a-potty sits in. Brilliant huh? In my camper, next to the back bed, there's a little cabinet on the floor. When you open the door, you slide out a box and there's a toilet seat mounted on it with a chamber pot and lid underneath. Not sure if the box is original but it's a brilliant idea whoever thought of it. It's a horrendous beige-pink color so I thought I'd give it a fresh coat of paint and kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Well just to show you how girly I am ... I can't get the paint open!! It's in a little quart size plastic jug with a turn lid and the Sherwin Williams lady made it too tight for my small hands to open. So the box now has a fresh coat of primer and I'll have to paint tomorrow after my hubby opens the paint can tonight. Yikes ... I need to buff up!! I thought it was pretty funny in any case.

I'm also still exploring curtain fabric options. I think I'm going to take all the fabric back to where I got it (not the upholstery fabric, that's not an option) and just wait until I put the actual cushions in the camper to see what it's asking for. I'm not sure if it's the fabric I don't like or just that I'm not "seeing" something in the 4 x 6 square of sample I have. I must have liked it when I bought it because there was a ton of other fabric on clearance at the same time and this called to me. Would I pick it today? Probably not but I'll work around it even though the designers say that's not a good idea. Phooey on them! I can't wait to get her back and work on the inside again ... now that I've decided to give her a chance that is. Sometimes that's all any of us needs, just a chance to show our true colors and shine!

A Decorating Dilemma!

Well now that the camper isn't here staring me in the face, I'm questioning the wisdom of what I've done. I'm not happy with what I've got at the moment and don't know how to fix what needs to be done. The avocado appliances don't bother me. The cushion fabric I chose bothers me a lot. Here's the dilemma:

I want to go from here:



to here (this is Amy's Vintage Cottage's trailer and I love it!!):



Any suggestions?

We have picked a neutral beige for the walls rather than optimistic yellow from Sherwin Williams. This is "blonde":

So far we've primered all the junky 60s paneling so we're obligated to paint and I thought a neutral would be more toned down with the avocado green on the 3 appliances (icebox, stove and heater cover). I'd rather work with them than against them and I've heard painting them isn't a great idea because the propane will bubble the paint eventually.

I'm not a great decorator ... I could copy something from a magazine if I started from scratch but when I'm working around elements that are in existance, I tend to just leave it as it is and hate it. I'm also not a "thematic" decorator ... I know lots of the Sisters on the Fly are into themes, especially western, but I'm more of a minimalist.

In my own home, I have neutral colors except for my office and my bedroom and I'm working on decluttering because I'd love to have a minimalistic home. Thus, a camper is a perfect space for me because it forces me to be minimalistic and uncluttered (or so I hope).

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate them! I don't sew well so slipcovering is probably not a good option. Hubby said I should just have them redo the cushions but since they're just being done now, that's kind of a waste of money in my opinion.

So I'll ponder and pout and agonize until I come up with a solution. Thus is life!

A New Bed and a Short Farewell for Maintenance

Well hubby finally finished the new platform for the bed (the old one was cracked and peeling). Got it put in today so now I'm just waiting for the cushions and my screen door to get fixed.



Tomorrow she's off to Sioux City to be worked on so it's farewell to the Shasta for a while. Gives me time to concentrate on other things I guess. Hopefully it won't take them too long to fix what needs to be fixed so I can get back to priming and painting.

After looking at vintage trailer blogs, I'm really loving the "romantic" cottage look that I'm seeing so I plan on looking in SC tomorrow for some material that would match and I might be rethinking the color scheme. I'm having some regrets about the fabric I chose for the cushions but I can always work around them. I shouldn't even have second thoughts when I consider it was only $2 a yard on clearance. *lol*

I just have to find some nice floral fabric to coordinate with the colors which I haven't been able to find ... haven't found any nice floral fabric anywhere actually so might have to resign myself to looking online but without having a calibrated monitor, it's kind of hit or miss looking at a 2" square.

I also plan on doing some thrifting tomorrow ... I took stock of my tupperware picnic set and realized I've been hoarding those dining trays (rectangular lunch try sort of things) and I even picked up 3 more at Goodwill today. At 50 cents a piece though, I can't complain. I really don't need any more of those but I'm sure they'll come in handy one of these days. I'd like to find a nice set of melmac or even those square tupperware plates, something non-breakable. I also found a cute red and white 3-piece tupperware craft container that will make a perfect first aid kit.

Note: Can't seem to get pictures to upload yet again ... will try again later!

Color, Color and More Color!

Well after much debate, I've decided to paint the interior of the camper. It's paneled in this white-washed 60s paneling that I'll never be able to match so rather than have the inside look patchworky in the spots where I need to replace some, I've decided to just paint.

I'm using Bulls-Eye primer and it's a huge task ... who'd have thought a 12 foot trailer would be more annoying to paint than a big old room? It's all the little spots and spaces and I've only gotten the closet done so far.

I took my color scheme inspiration from April 2003 cover of Country Living Magazine.



Since the appliances are avocado green, I'm going to paint the interior "Optimistic Yellow" by Sherwin Williams which is a nice warm yellow and coordinates nicely with the avocado appliances.

The fabric for the curtains is a little wacky but I wanted something bright and fun and can always change them if they get too annoying. I did have second thoughts on the fabric since I really like this Michael Miller vintage trailer fabric but it's a lot more expensive ($9 per yard) and I can't find it locally to see it in person. I did go back to Hobby Lobby to look at other options for fabric but when I put them all on the counter with the cushion fabric, it just didn't work as well as the goofy bug fabric. A couple other people agreed so instead of being a soothing cottage kind of retreat, it's going to be a sunny yellow fun kind of camper. Here's the curtain fabric.

I'm now going to be scouting around for vintage Corelle, green/yellow enamelware and a bunch of other fun stuff to tie this thing together.

Saturday morning she goes off to Sioux City to have some work done ... propane lines checked/replaced, electric brake fixed and bearings packed plus I'm going to get an estimate on how much it's going to cost to paint her exterior. I'm thinking of either doing her in white/yellow, white/darker avocado green or yellow/green. I'm still debating though.

Thrifting & Cleaning Like a Mother ...

Well whoever said "Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish" works is sure right!!! That stuff shines aluminum like crazy! I decided to get cracking on the wings today ... figures the day I have a light workload it's hot as a you-know-what so wanted an indoor project. This stuff is great ... polishes up dull aluminum wonderfully (but stinks and turns the towels black ... be forewarned!).

Took a break after scrubbing the cargo area floor and went thrifting looking for some cool camper stuff. Didn't find much of anything but I did find a vintage 60s Samsonite round train case in that off white marble for $3.99. I left the regular suitcase but would love to find more of these to take with me because they're just so cute and retro. Here's a picture of one just like it that's currently on Etsy.

I also found a Rolodex for my office for $1.59 and a set of 2 wire shelves that stack together for $1. I'm still looking for corelle dishes but might end up buying them at Walmart. They did have some Melmac at Salvation Army but they wanted $10.99 for it and it was pretty crappy looking and it was missing the bowls. Makes me kind of upset that I sold a bunch at a yard sale for $5 this past weekend but the colors were ugly.

I also found some adorable Alexander Henry fabric called "This Land is Your Land" that has states and symbols all over it ... might go with a travel theme which again makes me peeved that I sold a bunch of those tacky state plates at my yard sale this past weekend too. Ugh. Oh well, there's always ebay!

Tonight I tackled the kitchen area. I used lysol spray cleaner on the backsplash and the formica and when I took down the range hood, I found 40 years of dried out dead flies ... blech! I also shined up the propane lantern and cleaned the heck out of the range hood and filter. I'll replace that tomorrow after it's had enough time to dry completely.

A Name, A Theme & A Bath!

Well finally she has a name ... introducing "The Buzz Kill" (see new name below)*lol* Not sure where that name came from but I was in Hobby Lobby looking at fabric for inspiration and found some adorable bug themed fabric. Trekked over to Walmart to see if anything else caught my eye and there were polkadots and stripes and all kinds of semi-cute stuff but nothing as cute as this fabric. So I bought all that they had and was trying to come up with a cute buggy name when all of a sudden I had a 70s flashback from when people used to tell me I was a "buzz kill" because I didn't drink. Voila ... double meaning and totally weird at the same time. Not sure if I 100% like it but it works ... plus I can do her up in bugs and it will be kind of cute.

(UPDATE: I might not like the bugs so much so she might have a change of name. I plan on hitting Joann's and Hancock Fabrics in Omaha this weekend armed with a piece of the cushion fabric to find "the perfect" curtain fabric. Wish me luck!)

(2nd UPDATE: Well Joann's and Hancock were a total wash. I'm sticking with the bugs (even though I'm madly in love with this vintage trailer fabric I found online.) Went to Hobby Lobby today and found some possible alternate fabric but when I put it on the counter with the bug fabric and my swatch from the cushion fabric, the fabric lady and a random shopping lady both said "THE BUGS! GO WITH THE BUGS!" ... so I'm going with the bugs. *lol* However, the camper's "official" Sisters on the Fly name is .... Mary's Midlife Crisis ... that one is courtesy of my hubby who's exasperated with my flip flopping on colors, fabrics, themes, etc.

I'm still trying to find the perfect color to have her painted though. Found a guy who will do it for about 1/2 of the price of the auto body shops (he has one at his home and it's a hobby more than a business which is why the price was reasonable). I'm thinking yellow and white or maybe lime green but still not quite sure.

Today was bath day and testing out the electric day. Hooked her up and all the sockets and lights work. Yay! Vacuumed her out, scrubbed all the window screens and will work on the windows and window sills this week. I also started scrubbing the fiberglass rock guard/awning at the front windows. It's yellow! Boy what a difference getting rid of umpteen years of grime will do!

We also put on new tires/rims and purchased MDF for the new bed base and paneling for the small section in the back that needs to be replaced. It's not an exact match but for such a small area, it will work for now until I decide to re-panel the whole thing (if I ever do). I also purchased new curtain rods for all the windows since my daughter ran over the existing ones while they were in the garage. Luckily they're cheap at Walmart.

Expenses so far:

$150 - tires/rims (2)
$ 26 - curtain fabric
$ 25 - curtain rods
$ 30 - paneling and new wood for the bed plus paneling nails
_______

$231

Various Estimates

Hubby called today and had a guy come by to look at the camper for a painting estimate. If I went with a whole body paint, it would be more than I paid for it and apparently hail dings show up more when the paint is new. However, if I was to just change the stripe color from boring beige to something else, I'm only looking at about $200-$300.

First step will be to scrub her down with camper wash to see if that perks her up some. I'm still not thrilled with the beige but can live with it for a while anyway until I decide on the perfect color. I'm still thinking turquoise but not quite sure.

For the inside, we went to Menards yesterday and looked at paneling. A single sheet runs about $14 and it's not the exact color but since the area I need to fix will be covered by curtains and bed/couch cushions, I don't think anyone is really going to notice. The majority of the paneling is in good condition and only needs a cleaning so I don't intend to replace all of it.

For the bed area, a sheet of MDF is about $30 and hubby thinks that would work better than plywood due to the separation factor. I do see where some of the plywood is separating so that's probably why the pull out sticks.

Pangs of envy did hit me yesterday when my daughter's friend told me her parents GAVE AWAY a camper back in April. Ugh, if only I had known but what's done is done.

Houston We Have Air!

Well, at least a breeze. I was able to open all the windows today with my daughter's help. Seems the stuck ones were simply being turned the wrong way. One would think that all the windows would crank open in the same direction but I guess someone had a little bit of fun at the camper factory but in any case, all the windows open and all the glass is intact. Dirty but intact.

With the cushions gone, I was able to inspect the interior a bit more. We're going to need to replace the plywood bed board because the slide out board sticks and there's some warpage to the main board. It's not anything that is necessary but might as well do it while the cushions are off being remade.

I found the water tank today (under the dinette seat on the driver's side) and will fill it with water and Clorox bleach and on hubby's suggestion, tow the camper around to slosh the water around in the tank. We'll probably do that when we tow her in to get a painting estimate. I don't plan on drinking water from the tap so will bring bottled water along but it will be nice to kill any lurking germs.

There are a lot of cobwebs that need to be vacuumed up out of little corners and some rectangular things that I think might be mouse bait. When it cools down (hopefully next week) I'll get in there and give her a good cleaning. Today was just a day to get the windows open so I can air her out and to check her out inside again.

The plywood shouldn't cost all that much and if I can find some whitewashed paneling I plan on replacing the sections under the window that have warped and then dried out. If not, I'll come up with another solution since it's not the main paneling, just simply about a 6-inch wide section of a "shelf" under the window. I'm also still trying to figure out how to put an air conditioner in there but haven't hit upon the perfect solution yet.

I also joined some yahoo groups for vintage Shasta camper trailers so I plan on making good use of the resources available.

Progress Begins

I still haven't been able to give her a good cleaning due to the high temperatures we've been having but I was able to get some of the windows unstuck so a cross breeze can blow through. WD-40 and a good coaxing should help the rest of them.

I found a lady nearby who does upholstery so the cushions have been removed and are awaiting their new covers. I still haven't decided on a theme (or a name) and am eagerly awaiting my official Sisters on the Fly number. Maybe then she'll tell me what she wants to be named.

I've decided to have her painted all white and then have the beige stripes repainted turquoise. The wings will remain their silver color though.

Water lines and propane lines need to be checked and replaced if needed and I might have to find a camper place to do that.

Running total so far:

Camper: $900
Material for cushions: $35

-------
$935.00

The Beginning of a Dream

Since 2002 when I saw an article in Country Living magazine, I've wanted to own a vintage trailer and join Sisters on the Fly. After passing up a trailer at Goodwill years ago and kicking myself ever since, I decided to renew the quest. I stalked them on ebay and on craiglist, I trampled through a muddy field looking at old trailers that were abandoned to the elements and came complete with built in friends in the form of wasps that had made a home in the ceiling vents. Finally, the search paid off and I became the owner of a 1967 Shasta LoFlyte camper with wings!

This little darling is in amazing shape with intact whitewashed paneling and cabinets and other than some expected dust and mild dirt, is amazingly clean. No stink of mildew and no critters roaming around. My husband and I hooked her up to the truck and towed her home coming almost full circle since her very first owner lived about an hour from here.

She has yet to be christened with a name and needs new tires but she's been bug bombed and is ready for a pine-sol bath as soon as the weather cools off a little bit.

The cushions need new covers and as luck would have it, Walmart has most of their fabric on clearance so I was able to purchase some wonderful colorful semi-retro looking fabric for the seat cushions and have already found someone to make them for me. Let the restoration journey begin!